The present invention generally relates to dispensers and, more particularly, to a single-use dispenser for supplying a desired dosage of a liquid substance such as a drug, vaccine, ophthalmic solution and the like in drop form for delivering, including ophthalmic, oral, nasal or ear use or to irrigate a wound or the eyes, for example.
A variety of disposable medication dispensers are available on the market. Some are designed for single use, while others are intended for multiple dosage. Some dispensers are intended for hypodermic injection while others are droppers that provide liquid drops to be placed into an individual""s eyes or ingested through the mouth, for example.
Multiple dose droppers typically include a bottle with a screw-on cap that is removable whenever some of the solution is needed. One disadvantage associated with such multiple-use caps is that sterility of the container cannot be guaranteed once the cap is removed and later replaced. An additional disadvantage of multiple dosage droppers is that the bottle portion typically must be made by one process, such as blow molding, while the dropper tip is typically made with another molding process. These different processes can introduce manufacturing expenses that reduce the desirability of providing such devices on a mass production scale.
Single dose products typically include a reservoir made by a blow-fill-seal process using a polyolefin material. A disadvantage associated with such devices is that they require specialized machinery which introduces expenses that must be recovered and, consequently, results in an increased price for such devices. This is a disadvantage in the current marketplace where cost-savings are critical.
Another significant drawback associated with blow-fill-seal devices is that the medicament must be inserted while the plastic dispenser is still hot. Some substances cannot be subjected to such heat without adversely affecting the efficacy of the medicament. Therefore, blow-fill-seal devices have limited use.
One advance in single-dose technology is shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,871, which was issued on Sep. 11, 1990, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. The device of that patent provides a single-use hypodermic dispenser. The reservoir for holding the medication prior to the hypodermic injection is made from two sheets of thermoplastic material, which presents cost savings because of a simplified manufacturing process and materials compared to other single-dose designs.
Prior to this invention, none of the conventional technology has been utilized to make a single-dose, dropper-type dispenser that avoids the shortcomings and drawbacks discussed above. This invention fulfills that need and avoids the difficulties associated with prior devices.
In contrast to the prior devices discussed above it has been found that a disposable, fluid dispenser for use in delivering liquid substances such as drugs, vaccines, ophthalmic solutions and the like can be constructed in accordance with the present invention. Specifically, a dispenser body has two side walls that are at least partially joined together in face-to-face relationship to form relatively flat portions of the body. A reservoir portion is formed by generally flexible portions of each side wall that are spaced from each other. The body includes an outlet port in fluid communication with one side of the reservoir. An outlet nozzle has a first end that is secured to the outlet port. The outlet nozzle length may vary to accommodate different applications of the dispenser. A cap portion closes off the opposite end of the nozzle. The cap portion preferably is integrally formed with the nozzle and has a connection with the outlet nozzle such that the cap portion can be manually removed from the outlet nozzle to selectively allow fluid to be expelled from the reservoir through the outlet nozzle.
In the preferred embodiment, the connection between the cap portion and the outlet nozzle is breakable such that twisting, pulling or bending the cap portion with sufficient force breaks the cap portion off of the outlet nozzle. When the cap portion is broken off, the nozzle opening is exposed to allow the fluid from the reservoir to be expelled from the outlet nozzle. The cap portion preferably includes a plurality of projections that facilitate handling the cap portion and removing it from the outlet nozzle.
The various features and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the currently preferred embodiment. The drawings that accompany the detailed description can be briefly described as follows.